The USAID-funded John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) Program provides technical assistance from U.S. volunteers to farmers and agricultural groups in foreign countries to promote sustainable improvements in both food security and agricultural production, processing, and marketing. In the Fall of 2023 the Smith Center was awarded five years of funding to implement the “Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow” (ALOFT) regional USAID F2F program for Southeast Asia.
Working with partners at the Royal University of Agriculture in Cambodia, ECHO Asia in Thailand, and the Central Philippines State University in the Philippines, the ALOFT program provides technical assistance in climate-smart agriculture, agricultural entrepreneurship and agribusinesses, agricultural education, extension and advisory services through short-term exchanges between skilled American volunteers and farm groups, agribusinesses, NGOs, and universities. These exchanges place American volunteers with Southeast Asia host-organizations for two-week assignments to respond to local requests for technical assistance.
In November 2024, the entire ALOFT consortium convened for a regional kickoff meeting in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The meeting was attended by the ALOFT Smith Center team and the three country teams (Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand). There were a total of 18 participants from these teams, representing every single member of the ALOFT consortium. The week’s activities built rapport among team members, expanded our network of partners, and contributed to human resource development, program learning, and strategic planning efforts.
The ALOFT Kickoff Meeting consisted of staff onboarding, in-service training, and activity planning.. The meeting provided opportunities for engagement across the three ALOFT country teams and the Smith Center team. Each country team and the Smith Center presented an introduction of their team and their progress updates for Year 1 of project implementation. The Cambodia team shared reflections from both current and prior F2F implementation, providing additional context and resources to the Thailand and Philippines teams.
During day one of the kickoff meeting, the Smith Center team provided staff onboarding presentations on core F2F topics to build the capacity of new team members while providing a refresher to more experienced members. These presentations included: Volunteer Management, Safety, Security, and Health, PERSUAP, Internal and External Communications, and Financial Management and Reporting. Day two consisted of participatory planning sessions. Through small-group discussion and hands-on activities, country teams reflected on current priorities and developed more detailed work plans for Years 2-5 of project implementation. These presentations covered: Host Recruitment Strategy and Selection Criteria, ALOFT Areas of Technical Assistance, Value Chain Approaches, Gender-Sensitive Programming, Work Plan Development, and MEL. Activities allowed for collaboration both within and among country teams, fostering relationship building and knowledge sharing across the consortium.
The ALOFT Kickoff Meeting preceded the joint Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Nutrition (SAIN) 4 / School-plus-Home Gardens cum Biodiversity Enhancement and Enterprise (SHGBHEE) 3 conference. The SAIN/SHGHBEE conference convened institutions from across Southeast Asia working on food security, nutrition, and education issues related to ALOFT’s areas of technical assistance. Participating in the conference provided an opportunity for learning about related initiatives, networking with potential hosts, and raising the visibility of the ALOFT program. Team members from all three countries and the Smith Center participated in the SAIN4/SHGBEE3 conference jointly hosted by our ALOFT Cambodia implementer, CE SAIN, and The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Seven ALOFT team members, including at least one from each country team, presented at the conference.
This program-wide trip was an important team-building activity that provided structure and direction heading into the new year. The ALOFT consortium will build on this positive momentum to strengthen the delivery and impact of F2F programming in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
